Amethyst Tor
Tyrnabay has several major ports, each with a distinct atmosphere and "feel". Wolf's Bay is bustling and overcrowded, Desolation Point is bleak, Mist Bay is dark and foreboding. But stepping ashore in Amethyst Cove, one immediately senses an air of relaxation and safety. Pirate town or not, Amethyst Cove is a pleasant place to visit. For those who live there when not at sea, it is a haven not just from storms, but from the toils of life itself. And the feeling of relief and thankfulness for reaching home begins when a sailor first sees the glistening purple facets of Amethyst Tor in the distance ahead.
Amethyst Tor is a peak situated at the end of a long, narrow peninsula of rock that extends into the Great Sea and forms the sheltered bay area known as Amethyst Cove. It is recognized by the distintive bands of exposed rock that surround its uppermost heights - bands of a distinctive purple crystalling nature that were actually polished into "facets" by the Dwarves long ago. Each facet is tens of feet across. There is no discernable symmetry to the faceting; the Dwarves respected the original topography of the peak as much as they could.
Their intent was to reshape the natural peak that marked the entrance to the correct bay, but when they began, they discovered that beneath the outermost layers of soil and rock, the peak seemed to be formed from granite and quartz tinged purple by impurities so as to resemble semi-precious amethyst stones. The Dwarves decided to expose bands of this rock, and to shape these areas almost as if they were creating facets on a gemstone. The distinctive landmark that exists today is the result of that handiwork ages ago.
Home
Amethyst Tor is so distinctive that every sailor who has plied the coasts of Tyrnabay knows of it - and most if not all of these have been aboard ships that seek the safety of the moorings in the cove should storms strike the Great Sea. The merchant ships that sail out of the Amethyst Cove port, and the pirates of the Scourge of the Waves fleet that calls the port home have all come to equate the mere sight of the peak with the safety of homecoming. It has come to represent safety and the reward of relaxation after a long sea voyage.Secrets
The area at the base of the tor is pockmarked with recesses and sea caves; these are guarded by great slabs of stone that have either cracked of the peak naturally, or were allowed to fall where they may when the Dwarves were shaping the peak. There are many tales of pirate booty stashed in these caves; many of these tales also speak of horrible exotic creatures set to guard these treasures.Who Made Amethyst Tor?
Long before the first Humans were Awakened, and thousands of years before the Great Strife and the founding of the Kingdom of Tyrnabay, the Dwarves of the Waking Delve established a port on the shores of the Great Sea to facilitate trade with other Delves on faraway shores. The coast south of the Delve has many natural coves and bays, but most also hide rocky reefs that would tear a ship apart. Ships had difficulty in identifying the correct cove, so the Dwarves decided to do something about it.Their intent was to reshape the natural peak that marked the entrance to the correct bay, but when they began, they discovered that beneath the outermost layers of soil and rock, the peak seemed to be formed from granite and quartz tinged purple by impurities so as to resemble semi-precious amethyst stones. The Dwarves decided to expose bands of this rock, and to shape these areas almost as if they were creating facets on a gemstone. The distinctive landmark that exists today is the result of that handiwork ages ago.
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